2011 has passed & 2012 is close at hand

'Though the earth reels and all that dwell in her,

it is I [the LORD] that hold her pillars steady.' (Psalm 75.3)

As I write the season of Advent is giving way to Christmas; the year is drawing to a close; and I find myself in a reflective mood, wondering about the deeper significance of recent social and political events in the UK and elsewhere around the world.

2011 has been a remarkable year with some incredible occurrences especially in the Near East and North Africa.  Ordinary people have stood in protest against oppressive political structures.  Governments and leaders have been overthrown – this is apocalyptic stuff!  In Europe, the fragility of global economics has resulted in a re-examination of the way that member states collaborate with fiscal governance (or not as the case may be!)  And, in key cities in the west, the ‘Occupy Movement’ has emerged as a prophetic voice against global capitalism.  It is no surprise that the 2011 Time magazine person of the year award went to the ‘Protestor’. 

The story continues in 2012.  What do these things say about the movement of God in the world and how should Christians respond?  There is much to thank God for and some lessons to learn.  In the Scriptures we read that: God is sovereign over the tumultuous events of history, and longs to bring salvation to individuals and nations.  That is why God sent Christ into the world (John 3.17).

We have become accustomed to political and economic stability, but a scan of history reveals that life is not as settled as we often think, even in Europe!  The events played out early in the twenty-first century emphasize the vulnerability of the human position, call us back to the surety of God’s word, and point us to God’s plan for the whole of creation in Jesus Christ.  Not so that we might escape the troubles of this life, but so that we might pray for the world, help the poor, and where appropriate engage our political leaders, recognizing that God is at work in the process.

The Holy Spirit has been moving throughout the centuries creating opportunities for all people to receive the gospel of true freedom.  We must pray this continues in places like Egypt, Iran and Syria - asking for God’s kingdom of peace and justice to come and saying thank you for all that God has done.

I wonder whether in 2012, in spite of the ‘questions’ in our personal lives and uncertainty at a local and national level, God is calling us to remember where our strength and security ultimately lies and to seek to live a gospel-centered life that communicates this to the people and places in the world around us.

Faith and Imagination (Imagination and Faith)

At home, one thing that delights me on a daily basis is walking into a room and being surprised by objects that have mysteriously appeared in all sorts of strange positions and places around the house.  The toy aero-plane that for some unknown reason has landed on the bath-room sink, the brass ornament upside-down on the window-sill, the post-it note with ‘Batman’ logo on the kitchen door - all signs that someone small has this way been!  There is real beauty in the play and imagination of children.  It is free from the sort of rational conventions that guides adult thinking.  It is fitting that Jesus said, ‘I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven’ (Matthew 18.3).

Recently I have noticed that the virtues of faith and hope are very closely related to this God given gift of imagination.  This is perhaps most obvious in the area of Christian spirituality where one can find uncanny parallels between, say, 16^th century Catholic missionaries (Ignatius Loyola) and 21^st century protestant church leaders (Brad Jerzak).  Both see the human imagination as that place where the Spirit of God calls us deeper into faith and sanctifies our minds. 

Faith is about being bold enough to imagine and believe that God’s word to us is true.  It is more than positive or wishful thinking.  It transports us from our finite human understanding of God and the world around us to the infinite riches of God’s power and wisdom (Hebrews 11.8).  Ultimately, faith is about boldly imagining that God meets us in Jesus and has rescued us personally through his cross and resurrection.  Locally, it is about imagining that God still speaks to the church and has set before us a Vision for transforming the world.

How should we respond?  As I have experienced it, a child is not satisfied until the ideas filling the imagination are turned into reality through play. Will we follow our faith and imagination and invest our time, money, and energies in God’s kingdom over the coming months and watch as God continues to do wonderfully surprising things among us?